Andrea Photiou (AKA DJ De’Luscious) is the 24-year old CEO of Playvybz Internet radio station, based in the heart of London’s Brixton. She’s a Group CEO, a 2009 Lambeth Business Awards Finalist, and a Make Your Mark Ambassador. She was also a 2008 Precious Online Young Entrepreneur of the Year runner-up.

Playvybz also provides radio broadcasting, DJ skills and journalism training to help other young people break into the competitive radio industry through its Playvybz Academy. They have secured interviews with high profile UK and international music stars including Estelle. Andrea plans to expand the Playvybz training academy programme into other regions throughout the UK, with the aim of delivering training to 200 students each week.

Once the bane of her long-suffering neighbours, Andrea’s obsession with music was the catalyst for the development of Playvybz. A voracious hunger for Reggae, R&B, and later Hip-Hop and Bashment, constantly fought for supremacy against Andrea’s academic aspirations.

A fluent reader at three years old, Andrea went on to develop a reading age of 16 by the time she was eight. With this, she began a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media and Modern Literature at University College London’s prestigious Goldsmiths College, and was encouraged by family and tutors to become a professional writer.

During her studies, Andrea decided to ignite her passion for music, a change of direction that would later be acknowledged as a significant turning point in her career.

A beginner to the world of DJ-ing, Andrea made a favourable impression on Jurne Azubiah, host of open-deck night The DJs’ Lounge and previous Playvybz co-owner. After a buoyant audience-response at the talent search, the enthusiastic young woman was approached by pioneering female DJ and Lovers Rock singer Lorna Gee to take up a residency at a monthly club night.

Azubiah then invited the newly-Christened DJ Babyphat Brown (Andrea recently changed her alias to DJ De’Luscious) to host a weekly show on Playvybz.

Five months later, Azubiah and her business partner Ramona Phillips announced plans to sell the radio station and travel. The tenacity Andrea acquired as an Advertising Sales Executive on behalf of The Mirror newspaper drove the budding entrepreneur to step up and purchase the original logo and all rights to Playvybz.

Supported by a team of Business, Sound and IT Consultants, Andrea temporarily closed Playvybz down for a complete structural overhaul, before re-opening in June 2007.

The exuberant new CEO’s experience in writing Press Releases and Biographies for UK artists added strength to the re-vamped brand, in the form of Playvybz Solutionz, a copy-writing service offered by the radio station.